


Covered in the Light of Candles

by NeverNothing



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Birthday Celebrations, Established Relationship, Happy Birthday Kenma, Lazy Evenings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-08-02 16:00:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16308281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverNothing/pseuds/NeverNothing
Summary: Kuroo and Kenma spent the blond’s birthday with a lazy date night.





	Covered in the Light of Candles

**Author's Note:**

> Both Kuroo and Kenma are of legal drinking age! This is set somewhere in their late college years.

Kenma wasn’t much one for birthday celebrations. He enjoyed being remembered, people congratulating him, but surprises were a whole different stories. He did not enjoy being put in the spotlight like that. Years of playing volleyball- and making it to Nationals- dulled his distaste, but if there was the possibility, he liked to avoid situations like that.

Thankfully, his friends knew about that and had long stopped throwing surprise parties for him. They did not stop showering him with attention for his birthday, but for once, Kenma surmised, he could deal. There was also no way of dodging the congratulations from people of his daily life, his fellow students and internship coworkers as well as family.

As compromise to that amount of attention, his friends had conceded the evening of his birthday to spent by himself. He needed the breather or he would get overwhelmed and they understood. Instead, his friends and him would meet up the day after to properly celebrate his birthday.

They had been dealing with his birthday that exact same way ever since his second year in high school and- to be completely truthful- Kenma quite enjoyed it like that.

That was the reason why he was on the way to their university’s gym now. After a day full of classes, labs and programming for his job with the added stress of  _ people, _ he was ready to get home.

Kuroo would have finished practice by then, they would go home to their shared flat and enjoy a quiet evening. It had always been like that, even before the two of them had lived together.

When they still were kids, Kuroo had stayed over at his family’s play often- his father on a business trip and his grandparents not up to the challenge of taking care of a young, energetic boy for more than just a few days. And even if Kuroo’s father happened to be home, Kenma’s birthday would be spent with a sleepover. During those times, the whole Kuroo-family would be invited over for dinner. It was a ritual that was continued even after Kuroo left for college, at least for the two of them.

Moving in together made birthday sleepovers a little bit harder. In the beginning, living together was like an extended sleepover and Kenma feared it would lose its childish wonder or teenage charm, but they made it work. With the growth of their relationship, so did their perception. Sleepovers in itself were no longer something special, but they thought of ways to make it differ from their normal night routine. Even though it was not the same it used to be, it was comfortable and relaxing. It was all he needed for his birthday.

Arriving at the gym, Kuroo was already waiting for him, his hair still wet from the shower he had after his exercise. Kenma had to deal with his boyfriend’s teammates congratulating him- some of them awkwardly, other teammates (Koutarou) enthusiastically. Of course, the raven would not have kept quiet about his birthday.

With mumbled words of thanks, he endured it, fond smile when he caught Kuroo’s eyes betraying his otherwise distant demeanor. The raven looked entirely too smug about it.

“So,” Kuroo initiated the conversation lazily, falling into step beside the blond with his bag thrown casually over his shoulder. Kenma inhaled the clean smell of his mineral and musk soap and felt his own shoulders slowly unwinding. “Take out and documentaries?”

Kenma was staring at the ground in front of him, obscuring the smile on his face with the collar of his jacket. “Sounds good to me.”

On their way home, the raven chattered about his day, his classes and volleyball practice, intuitively leading Kenma with a free hand on his back. Kenma listened, acutely aware of the warmth of his boyfriends presence beside him. It did not seem enough. Tugging on his arm with little force, he entwined their hands instead. 

Without checking, the blond knew Kuroo was gazing at him affectionately, back of his neck warming in response. He huffed and the raven laughed freely.

They arrived home quickly.

“Chinese?” Kuroo asked once their front door had fallen shut behind them. He was toeing his shoes off, surprisingly unbalanced in this stance as he leaned against the wall. There were no counting the times he had toppled over when removing his shoes and it was still amusing to witness when it happened. Fortunately for the raven, it managed to finish pulling his shoes of savely.

Kenma was pulling his jacket off as he agreed. The next steps were executed like a well practised script. 

Putting away their bags, Kuroo made their order while Kenma changed clothes in their shared bedroom and gathered all their blankets in his arms to carry them to their living room. Dropping them down in front of their television, pushing their coffee table to the side, he stared at the cleared space thoughtfully.

“Floor or want me to get the couch ready?” Kuroo asked, putting away his phone. The question was justified. Usually, they spent their evening cuddled together on the floor, buried under their blankets but then, they had also finally gotten a new sofa a few days ago, one which was extendable. It was the combined birthday gift from their parents. They never had had the chance to test it out, being too busy before. It was the perfect opportunity.

The raven took a long look at his face and grinned. “Extend it then. Alright, kitten.”

The blond huffed again and watched as his boyfriend did exactly as he had said. He readied the couch expertly- to the point it was a little suspicious considered they had never extended it before as far as Kenma knew. His eyes narrowed. Kuroo must have practiced it. Of course he did.

Together, they dropped the blankets Kenma had brought over on the couch and Kuroo left to get some more pillows while the blond started to painstakingly arrange everything for maximum comfort. He was quite skillful at it, too, gladly accepting the pillows his boyfriend offered. 

Kuroo watched him adoringly and Kenma was intently aware of his gaze, but it had long stopped making him feel uncomfortable or self-conscious. Instead,  he felt oddly settled. Then Kuroo turned and walked into the kitchen. From there, Kenma heard his voice ask. “How do you feel about drinking a bit of wine today?”

Kenma stilled for a moment and then joined the raven in the kitchen, peeking over his shoulder into the fridge. The blond did not drink alcohol often, having a distaste for most beverages he had tried. Some time ago, however, Kuroo and him had found a wine, a sweet and rather mellow rosé, he actually enjoyed. That was the bottle he saw in his boyfriend’s hand, now lifted for him to see.

Contemplating the raven with a prolonged look, Kenma decided. “Sure.” They never drank enough to be too drunk anyway.

“Neat.” Kuroo put the bottle down on the counter beside the refrigerator and pulled open the cabinet they stored their wine glasses in. They had exactly five of them- and none of them matching. 

Of course Kuroo would choose the blond’s two favourite ones and Kenma watched as he set the tulip-shaped glasses down to pour the wine. The clink of the glasses made Kenma smile and he gracefully accepted the glass when his boyfriend leaned against the counter. Raising it in the raven’s direction, they said their silent cheers.

Just after he had taken his first sip, cherishing the sweetness that filled his mouth, their doorbell rang. “Ah- must be the take out,” Kuroo commented and pushed himself off. 

He was in the middle of setting down his glass when Kenma interrupted him. “It’s fine, I’ll get it.” He had already set down his own glass and was closer to the door anyway.

“Thank you,” Kuroo sighed, soft lines playing on the edge of his lips as he lifted his glass the meet them again. “Wallet is in my jacket.”

The blond nodded, well aware of the fact. The transaction of paying for their food was completed quickly. Afterwards, he carried their take out into the living room and came to an abrupt halt once he passed the door.

Kuroo had turned the cover light off, only source of illumination their television screen, their standard lamp in the corner, which was giving of a warm orange hue and candles the raven had lit. Kenma stared.

His boyfriend stood amidst it, still lightening candles, but he perked up and turned towards the blond, most likely having heard his arrival. With a wide grin, he spread his arms, visibly satisfied with his effort. The soft light of flickering candles was reflected in his eyes, gleaming golden.

“What are you doing?” Measuredly, Kenma stepped closer, food containers still in his arms.

The raven stepped up to meet him and took the takeout from his hands. “Setting up the mood!” He sounded convinced.

“What mood?” Kenma was less so, or at least he pretended to be. Inside of him, warmth was bubbling.

“Doesn’t it seem cozy like that?” It did. It made his chest swell with affection. Warmth was threatening to overflow.

Kenma sighed. “This is a fire hazard.”

The grin on his boyfriend’s face grew impossibly. He was looking right through the blond, but as always Kenma decided he did not really mind it.

Two of them settled down in the nest Kenma had build out of assorted blankets and pillows, carefully balancing their food and wine on a tablet between them. A voice inside of Kenma’s head yelled at them, imagining the disaster they were just challenging to happen. The blond ignored it, leaning against Kuroo to relax instead. Once in a while, it had to be alright.

Munching on a dumpling, Kenma turned his attention to the documentary Kuroo had switched on. Panda’s living in the wild in a forest in China, matching the topic of their food. The blond snorted. Of course, Kuroo would keep an eye on details like that.

Together, they finished their meal quickly and thankfully avoided any accidents. Candles encased them in warm light, which had made it hard to see what they were eating but somehow, they made it work. Kenma sighed and melted into the backrest, soaking in the atmosphere, completely lax. Tension of the day left him.

“Do you want some more?” Kuroo was motioning towards Kenma’s glass of wine, which he had drained some time ago. The blond mulled over the question and then shrugged. He felt still fine so more would not hurt.

With another grin, Kuroo clambered over the couch to head to the kitchen, taking his own glass and their finished takeout with him, and returned with both of them filled shortly after. Kenma accepted the wine with a thankful nod and mad space for his boyfriend to cuddle back into his side. 

Kenma whined, as took some adjusting to find a comfortable position again and he did not feel like moving. This time, they ended up with Kenma’s legs thrown across Kuroo’s lap, almost straddling him and curled into his side. That was the most he was willing to move and his boyfriend seemed perfectly fine with their current position.

The raven had wrapped an arm around him and between sipping on their wine and watching the documentaries, where to expedition team was just following a young male that had just left his mother’s care, they lazily made out or exchanged private comments. Covered in the flickering candle light and brightness of the screen.

Admittedly, they were only partly paying attention to what was going on, but Kenma was still sure he was getting the gist of what was happening on the screen. The expedition team had found the youngster they had accompanied again. It was the start of mating season. The male was encountering a female animal.

Kuroo imitated the wailing sounds the male panda was making in the documentary, trying to persuade the female. Not being able to hold in giggles, Kenma nudged his boyfriend. “Stop it, we’re going to get a noise complaint.”

He slumped against the raven’s  hold, head cushioned on his shoulders, and breathed out deeply, another bout of giggles escaping him again. The warm grasp of the hand comfortable seated on his waist tightened hardly noticeable.  Kuroo dropped a kiss on the crown of his head, touch lingering.

Leaning even closer, further down, Kuroo whispered in his ear then, causing a pleasant shiver to run through the blond’s body, “Happy birthday, kitten.”

Kenma hummed. He was content and happy. 

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday, Kenma ♥
> 
> | [@Twitter](https://twitter.com/nevernothingx3)


End file.
